The Stories

Peace Warriors and People Power
It sometimes seems as if violence is an unstoppable force in the world, but, surprisingly, there’s also great power in peace. A peace warrior is person who fights for peace and justice without using violence – and when peace warriors join together it’s known as people power.

The White Rose – a group of university students expose Nazi crimes (Sophie Scholl)
The Non-Violent Village – a town in France saves thousands of Jews (Le Chambon)
Arne and the War Machine – a teenager’s plan to resist the invaders in Denmark (Arne Sejr)
Sold To Death – a pacifist on the battlefield in First World War (Archibald Baxter)
Hero To Zero – a war hero who turns pacifist in the Second World War (Ormond Burton)
Asked To Kill – an Australian teacher refuses to fight in Vietnam (William White)

WEAPONS: Peaceful resistance against deadly weapons

Ships Against the Atom – a boat sails into a Pacific nuclear weapon zone (Rainbow Warrior)
Tank Man – a lone man stops a column of army tanks in Tiananmen Square, China
Blood and Bombers – young friends protest on an American military base (Moana Cole)

DICTATORS: Non-violent resistance in countries ruled by dictators

Hitler’s Birthday – the only public protest in Nazi Germany was by a group of women (Rosenstrasse)
Facing The Generals – Aung San Suu Kyi and Burmese students versus a brutal army
The Yellow Revolution – the biggest people people movement in history (Corazon Aquino)

PROTEST: Non-violent protests against injustice and oppression

Salt Versus Bullets – Gandhi and the long march to freedom in India
Little Rock Nine – American high school students face an angry mob (Elizabeth Eckford; Martin Luther King Jr.)
The Lions Rage – the first documented people power protest was in New Zealand (Parihaka; Te Whiti)
The Disappeared – mothers of ‘The Disappeared’ protest against a dictatorship in Argentina (Plaza de Mayo)
To Create, Not Destroy – New Zealanders’ creative protests during the Second World War (Lois White, Rita Angus, Johnny Johnson)